"Law enforcement officials have a special responsibility to respect the rights of everyone in the United States," Andres said in a statement. "We should not allow anyone to believe that responsibility is diminished by this pardon."

Arpaio was convicted in July of defying a judge's order to stop traffic patrols that targeted immigrants. A federal court said in 2016 that Arpaio's policy as sheriff of using traffic stops and workplace raids to find suspected undocumented immigrants constituted racial profiling.

Arpaio was an early supporter of Mr. Trump's, and on Friday night, he told Fox News' Sean Hannity that he is with Mr. Trump "until the end."